Wowwww...spent many, many hours this morning trying to figure out all the background stuff for this blog. There is a good website that gives great directions that Valerie gave me, but when I went to save my template, all I got were error messages...5 times!!! That was a lot of work, and I was bummed, but I found another good website(don't have the address on this laptop), that was much easier to plug in. Anyways....
The weather outside is semi-warm, cloudy, and rainy, with some thunder and lightning in between. That doesn't seem to make for a great Memorial Day BBQ or day at the pool, unfortunately. Nathan has been working out in the backyard getting our trampoline area ready--yeah, should have been done last year, but whatever. He has built the cinder block wall and covered the slope of dirt with fabric, now it is ready for the rock that is sitting in our driveway. I will just be happy when the rock is covering that dirt, because it is LAUREN who loves to dig in it and get all muddy with her friends. Aside from that, Jonathan likes to eat dirt, and although he has really been healthier since he started with that about 7 years ago, I would prefer that he didn't.(: They all enjoy the tramp much better than the dirt anyways, it's just taken awhile to overhaul the yard, and speaking of which, I am slightly perturbed that our brand new grass from last summer is coming up green and lush in some areas and dead looking brown in others. We have fertilized, aerated, thatched--you name it, we've done it, so if anyone knows why this would happen, do tell! The plants will have to wait a couple weeks until I can physically plant them, or until Nathan has some time to do it for me, but I can't wait for some color in the garden!
Saturday was Lauren's first dance recital, and boy did she have fun! I wasn't sure how she would react to being on stage with all the lights
in front of her, and the darkness behind, but she loved it, and keeps asking when she gets to do it again! Dance recitals are quite a big thing for this dance company--they had 3 different ones! Lauren's was mostly the little kids, with a few of the competitive teams to spice it up--and of course, they were awesome! Brendan thought
Tomorrow is Brendan's Baptism Day! He is quite excited that Grandma and Grandpa Lowry are here and that his cousins, the Madsens, from Ft.Collins are coming, and that his friend Jaron will be there. It seems like just yesterday that I was bringing this 9 lb baby boy home from the hospital, and now he is 8 and ready to be baptized! We are very blessed to have such a great kid in our family, and we are so proud of him and all that he does to enrich the lives of those around him! We absolutely love him and can't wait to see everything that is in store for him!
I LOVE my Micah! Actually, she is Jonathan's Micah, and he loves her, too, but I absolutely love what she does for Jonathan, myself, and the rest of our family. Micah is Jonathan's ABA therapist, and what a wonderful asset and blessing she is for us! She comes three times a week to our home, more if she can handle it and has the time and sometimes if I beg, and works with Jonathan on life skills, plays with him, and gives me a break. She started with Jonathan a year and a half ago as an ABA therapist, but we have known her for several years because she used to work at Zach's place, a 
respite care place where Jonathan goes when he out of school during the day. Anyways, I consider Micah somewhat of a magician, because no matter what kind of a mood my kiddo is in when she gets her(usually always happy to see her, but once in awhile is kicking and screaming), he is always in a good mood when she leaves and stays that way for the rest of the day. Wouldn't you love her, too? That face is a calm and happy J!
which is nice, since special needs kids cost a fortune! Anyways, he doesn't talk, but communicates through sign language, gestures, and his lightwriter, which is basically a typewriter-like portable device that talks for him as well. He can also write his needs. He is a great kid and everyone loves him, and everyone seems to know him wherever we go--Qdoba, the library, the community pool, King Soopers, etc. He loves to swim, play with his Thomas trains(we must have at least 500), and watch various Disney and Thomas Youtube videos. This is a picture of Jonathan is his ball pit--that takes 1500 balls, and it is pure heaven for him to get in and immerse himself while the music plays, the pit vibrates, and a light show soothes his senses. Life with an autistic child is definitely hard at times, but it opens our eyes to the world in amazing ways!
siblings and is going to be an amazing dad someday. He helps Jonathan when needed and turns around to show Lauren how to walk a runway for her "show" with her friends. He is friendly and energetic and asks A LOT of questions like all 8 year olds do. 
ughter and loves to give....anything...to all of her friends. Nearly everyday she asks if she can have all of her friends over at once--can you imagine what that will be like when she is 16??? Anyways, she is our dirt-digging-tomboy-princess who loves to dance and sing and play ALL day!
